Firefighters arrived around 10:35 a.m. to find the wood-frame garage engulfed in flame as thick black smoke drifted through the neighborhood. Although the fire was quickly brought under control, gasoline in the car continued to burn while the garage was shrouded in steam for some time.

Fire Chief Ken Erickson said that heat from the blaze broke a window in the house less than 10 yards away, but the fire did not reach the residence, which escaped damage apart from the broken window. The garage, the car and everything else in the garage was completely destroyed, the chief said.

Although Erickson declined to specify the cause of the fire, he said that the garaged car was on a battery charger when the fire broke out. He said that Lieutenant Chad Vaillancourt's crew was first on the scene, but since the department was engaged in training there was no shortage of personnel to fight the fire.